


wrong brother

by genresavvy



Category: The Lone Ranger (2013)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-14
Updated: 2013-12-14
Packaged: 2018-01-04 08:49:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1078989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/genresavvy/pseuds/genresavvy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Unfortunately, he never quite learns how to tell a good lie, and so every place he works he either ends up with everyone trying to guess at who the woman in the photo is, or whispering about the young prosecutor-to-be who carries around a photo of his brother's wife.</p>
            </blockquote>





	wrong brother

He still has hope that he has a chance right up to the day his brother comes home with Rebecca, and John doesn't understand why his brother is so uncomfortable until he notices the ring on her finger. Staring at the ring isn't an appropriate response, but for a long, uncomfortable moment, that's all he can do. Eventually, he forces himself to look at his brother and he smiles and says all the right things about how he's so happy for them and how he's sure that they'll be happy.

They smile back, but conversation doesn't last much after that, so they leave. John feels grateful that they know him well enough to give him space to deal with how he feels about it. 

But that doesn't change the fact that he's standing alone in a room, trying not to think about how he knows what it feels like to kiss the woman his brother is marrying or that what should have been a happy moment was awkward or the fact that he had been so certain for so long that he was going to be the one to marry Rebecca.

For the first time in his life, John seriously considers going out and getting drunk.

* * *

Thankfully, Rebecca and John have enough tact and basic decency that they don't ask him to do anything special at the wedding, just to show up. For once in his life, he's thankful for how small the town he grew up in is, because no one needs to ask why the brother of the groom is barely involved in the wedding. He hates the pitying looks, but he can live with it if it means he doesn't have to come up with some alternate explanation to give to anyone who might ask.

The ceremony is beautiful. Rebecca is beautiful, wearing her mother's wedding dress that she's talked about wearing for her wedding since she was about eight. While walking down the aisle, she happens to make eye contact with him when she glances out at the people in attendance, and immediately averts her eyes. 

He looks away, too, and keeps looking away through the whole ceremony.

After there's food and dancing, and somehow he ends up dancing with Rebecca. He puts on a smile and acts like there's nothing weird about it. There's a million things he wants to say to her, about how he feels and how this hasn't been easy, but in the end he blurts out something about going to law school in the city. The look of shock on her face is gone in an instant, but he still catches it before she smiles and congratulates him. 

Soon the dance is over and as she walks away, he wonders if this is all he was ever meant to have with her.

* * *

Law school is supposed to be his escape, his way to follow his dream and stop thinking about her.

Instead he finds himself writing letters to her and keeping her photo in the current book that he's reading. 

* * *

About two years into law school, she tells him that she's pregnant, and about how excited Dan is to be a father. She also says how she's been busy lately, and probably won't be able to write as much.

When her next letter never comes, he understands. After all, telling him how excited Dan was to be a father was the first time she'd mentioned him in her letters in months. He moves the letters into a box, and plans to, but never quite gets around to getting rid of them. 

It doesn't occur to him that he should stop carrying around the photo of her until one day when he takes it out of the book he's finished reading and the person sitting next to him -- someone he's occasionally talked to and considers somewhat a friend -- notices it.

"She's beautiful." He comments, and John nods, "Is she your fiancee?"

He freezes at that, and it's a long moment before he can force out the words, "No. She's -- uh. My brother's wife."

There's a distinct feeling of discomfort in every conversation he has with them after that.

 The fact that he doesn't stop carrying the photo around with him probably doesn't help.

* * *

The rest of law school is a blur of working and studying, and then he's done with it. 

Then comes six years of litigation experience, and he realizes he's underestimated just how busy he can be. Her picture is there, a constant through it all, and he's grown so used to the process of switching it from book to book that he never loses it. 

Unfortunately, he never quite learns how to tell a good lie, and so every place he works he either ends up with everyone trying to guess at who the woman in the photo is, or whispering about the young prosecutor-to-be who carries around a photo of his brother's wife.

* * *

After the six years pass, he finds himself in the city with all sorts of options available to him. There are so many places he could work for, where he could go so far away from the town he grew up in. He could throw away her photo and finally move on, move past the could-have-beens and be more than that guy still hung up on his brother's wife.

Instead, he finds himself on a train back to his hometown, on contract to be the new prosecutor.


End file.
